Volume 71 forthcoming

Alfred’s Tower, anonymous, 1788, engraved by Thomas Bonnor (c.1740–c.1815) from The History and Antiquities of Somerset, by John Collison, vol. II (Bath, 1791).

Volume 71 in our series, The Letters of Henry Hoare, 1760–1781, will be published later this year. The letters, from Henry Hoare to his son-in-law, Lord Bruce, wife and children attest his devotion and generosity towards the family. They contain nuggets about the garden and house at Stourhead and permit glimpses of Henry the banker and businessman in his wranglings with the Sardinian envoy and Duke of Northumberland. Soppiness seeps into the later letters, cut by quips and quotations. Henry’s respect for Lord Bruce throbs unremittingly and was merited by the character of that dull, upright-living, courtier to George III. The letters are accompanied by brief biographies and a gazetteer of the people and places met along the way. The volume has been edited for the society by Dudley Dodd.